As the nights draw in, it’s the perfect time to try some comforting homebaking! Inspired by a recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall, we’ve baked this seasonal and rich chestnut and chocolate cake, the perfect companion to our sumptuous smoky tea. With an amazing mousse-like texture, the intense flavour of dark chocolate and the sweetness and earthiness of chestnuts, this is an amazing treat -and it’s also gluten free! 

Ingredients: 

250 g dark chocolate

250 g butter

250 g chestnut puree

250 ml milk

4 eggs

125 g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 170C. 

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and butter together in a pan over a gentle heat. In a different pan, heat the chestnut pure with milk until just boiling. 

Separate the eggs. Put the yolks in a bowl and mix with the sugar. Stir in the chocolate mixture and then the chestnut puree until the batter feels smooth and well blended. 

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and then fold them into the batter. Now you can ransfer the mixture into a greased and lined cake tin and bake for 25–30 minutes. 

Leave it to cool a little, release the tin and slice the cake carefully with a slightly hot knife (you can put it in hot water for a few seconds). Enjoy its beautiful moussey texture with a cup of Lahloo’s Smoky Tea!

The original recipe can be found here.